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Call It A Comeback

2006

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Okay, so you’ll notice on the left side a little Blogginois Ad Network thingy—three of us talked about it for a while and I started an Illinois Blog Ad Network. Currently it includes Bill from Peoria Pundit, the IlliniPundit Collective and me. If you have 500 visits a day and would be interested in signing up for Blog Ads, update regularly, and are a politics/current events type of blogger let me know. If you are an Illinois blogger already with Blog Ads, definitely let me know and we’ll get you added. We worked on this a while ago and IP turned into a collective and Bill and I let the ball drop. The idea behind it is that those interested in contacting an Illinois audience interested in politics would have an easy place to go.

What’s really embarrassing–both have surpassed me in traffic. Okay, Bill has has some visuals and IP has multiple authors, but it’s still weird.

We would love to have a better logo, but I’m not sure we’re willing to pay for it. So for now, that’s it.

ICFST

Staffing Up!

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Apparently John Cox doesn’t get that he’s a huge joke and is actually advertising for staff for his Presidential run.

NATIONAL (R): Currently seeking staff members for Republican Presidential campaign. Positions include State Directors, Political Directors, Finance Directors, Political Field Representatives and Administrative Staff. Residency in key states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are required. Frequent Travel is a must. John Cox’s iIssues are on the website. Salary between 10,000 and 1,000 monthly depending on experience. Please email manager@cox2008.com with your resume. Posted 4/2/06

I guess if people need a paycheck and can hide it on their resume…why not.

Be sure not to miss his public campaign announcement on April 17th in Des Moines

G-Rod

State Finances Downgraded

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This is very, very bad.

SPRINGFIELD — A leading Wall Street bond house Thursday issued a negative outlook toward the state government’s finances because of concerns over the billions of dollars owed to Illinois’ public pension systems.

The move by Fitch Ratings represents a jolt to Gov. Blagojevich as he tries to mold a 2007 state budget and fend off Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, who has made the state’s precarious financial condition a cornerstone of her bid to unseat him this fall.

The state faces a $39 billion funding shortfall in its pension funds and, under a 1995 law, is committed to an ever-increasing schedule of payments that threatens to hamstring the next administration.

This year, $1.6 billion was diverted by the state to its pensions. In the 2008 budget year, the total that must be spent rises to $2.75 billion. And by 2010, the final year of the next governor’s term, the state’s annual pension commitment will reach $3.8 billion.

“Fitch believes that, barring a significant revenue increase or a substantial reduction in expenditures, Illinois will be unable to follow its own plan to contain the $39 billion unfunded pension liability,” the firm wrote in a report issued Thursday.

“This intractable problem, including cash flow pressures, is apt to impair credit quality despite the breadth and wealth of the state’s large economy,” Fitch concluded, listing Illinois as one of only three states with such negative outlooks

This doesn’t have immediate consequences, but if it isn’t dealt with properly, there will be a dramatic increase for the state to borrow money.

It’s fair to say that everyone punted except Hynes on the problem of underfunding pensions before Blagojevich, but making it worse doesn’t leave the administration somehow clean. Continuing an unsustainable policy is not an excuse.

Via the 13th Floor at Governing

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The Must Read Columns

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Miller on Gubernatorial Poll

Everything I hear, Meeks is serious, but let’s be clear–he can’t win. There is no way. Cutting a deal is his best shot, it’s just unclear if Blagojevich will think it’s his Sister Soulja moment horribly confusing the situations.

Sweet on Congressional Travel

My solution is to ban all outside travel and limit it to taxpayer paid travel, out of the campaign fund, or personal expenses. Provide a larger budget for each Member–as Sweet points out, Congressional travel is important in many respects, and then file all taxpayer paid trips on-line with itemized receipts besides per diem. Voters can then decide what is reasonable and what is not. The problem with the non-profit travel is that it’s a great way to funnel money and hide it–it’s the point of what happened with the golfing trip to Scotland.

Chambers (because I’ve been neglecting my rounds to the RR)—

Mocking. Posturing. Blaming. The state is no closer to a comprehensive statewide infrastructure improvement plan. This is your government at work.

Illinois Congressional Races

First Reports

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Manzullo, Biggert, Jackson, Shimkus, Stover (IL-19), Schakowsky, Gill (IL-15), Davis and Costello are in and nothing really interesting in there–this won’t be much of a quarter since it really only includes March. .

Wait, one thing, Lloyd Cueto’s committee gave Costello $150

(Hitting head against wall–what a jackass) I’m sure there is some more fun in there, but nothing stands out.

ICFST

Just In Case There is Any Ambiguity: Match Please

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If you thought the Topinka Tattler might be in mothballs after the primary, nope, this is the group that thinks you have to burn down the village to save it:

We want to be crystal clear about this. No Republican has a duty to support a dishonest Democrat like Topinka – any more than they have a duty to support Rod Blagojevich. To the extent Blagojevich at least has the decency to put a ?D? by his name – he?s more honest than Topinka. A sound case could be made that Blagojevich represents the lesser of two weasels.

Protecting the Illinois Republican brand from further destruction (if that?s possible) is job one. Topinka does nothing but hurt the Party. Topinka and Blagojevich are about equally bad. But Topinka?s bad acts and classless behavior all accrue to the Republican brand and speed its deterioration.

At least we can build the IL GOP with Blagojevich as a foil ? at least we could if we had Party leaders in Illinois who knew what they were doing. Mike Madigan did it when Republicans were in power here, and Republicans did it at the national level when Bill Clinton was President.

Many Republicans will rightly say that this is just a small group, and that is true, but it’s a small group that fights nasty and spends a lot just to make themselves feel better. Rod’s vulnerable, but Judy has a right flank that’s just as hard to protect. Assuming Meeks doesn’t get in (which I’m hearing is a bad assumption), Judy is going to be facing a two front attack for over six months.

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